Ecolab Inc. $ECL Stake Lessened by Logan Capital Management Inc.

Logan Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Ecolab Inc. (NYSE:ECL) by 60.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ecolab were worth $185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nemes Rush Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 6.6% in the first quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 42,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 32.4% in the first quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. now owns 14,005 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,428 shares in the last quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1.1% in the first quarter. Mirabaud & Cie SA now owns 5,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ecolab in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in shares of Ecolab by 1,189.2% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 144,392 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,606,000 after acquiring an additional 133,192 shares in the last quarter. 74.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Ecolab

In other Ecolab news, Director Suzanne M. Vautrinot sold 1,354 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.16, for a total value of $383,398.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,199 shares in the company, valued at $3,171,108.84. This represents a 10.79% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jennifer J. Bradway sold 807 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.28, for a total transaction of $225,378.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,165.28. The trade was a 15.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ecolab Stock Down 4.0%

Shares of NYSE:ECL opened at $268.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.44. The company has a market cap of $76.13 billion, a PE ratio of 35.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.09. Ecolab Inc. has a 52 week low of $221.62 and a 52 week high of $286.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.99.

Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.07. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Ecolab had a net margin of 13.59% and a return on equity of 22.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.57 EPS. Ecolab has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 2.020-2.120 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 7.480-7.580 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ecolab Inc. will post 7.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Ecolab Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 16th were given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 16th. Ecolab’s dividend payout ratio is 34.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ECL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Baird R W raised shares of Ecolab from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Ecolab to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Ecolab in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ecolab from $295.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $291.69.

Ecolab Company Profile

Ecolab Inc provides water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Global Industrial; Global Institutional & Specialty; and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences. The Global Industrial segment offers water treatment and process applications, and cleaning and sanitizing solutions to manufacturing, food and beverage processing, transportation, chemical, metals and mining, power generation, pulp and paper, commercial laundry, petroleum, refining, and petrochemical industries.